


Another Life for the Black Cat

by ElfGrove



Series: ShiroPidge Week 2016 [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fluff, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Reunions, Written on the assumption the age gap is small
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-22
Updated: 2016-09-22
Packaged: 2018-08-16 19:00:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8113834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElfGrove/pseuds/ElfGrove
Summary: Five years after Voltron’s return to Earth, Shiro attends an anniversary event at Galaxy Garrison Academy.ShiroPidge Week 2016 - Day 1: Future





	

Shiro took a deep breath, and straightened his shoulders. With an effort he turned away from the mirror without looking at it again. He couldn’t do anything more for his appearance than he already had. The scars were always going to be there. He’d stopped dyeing his hair to try to hide the stress-induced white streak in February. It had been a New Year’s Resolution. He wouldn’t start breaking it now. No one who would see him today was going to expect him to look less damaged than he had when they’d first returned to Earth five years ago. He was here for the anniversary event being held at the Galaxy Garrison Academy where they had once all been students. Leaders from around the galaxy would be here today, along with the Paladins of Voltron.

The Paladins. He’d skipped last two anniversary events. Avoided them for almost the entire three-year period in between. Sure, he’d initially fallen off the grid because of being hospitalized when his system rejected some donor blood, but things had gone downhill from there, and he hadn’t wanted to add to their stress at that time of year by sharing his medical issues. But he was the one that had let a couple of months’ radio silence lapse into a year, and then two, then three. They must be upset with him. Maybe he couldn’t do this after all. He hadn’t formally appeared anywhere yet. He could just go back home and no one would be the wiser. The Event Coordinator would keep quiet that he’d gotten as far as arriving at the Academy before cancelling. Probably.

It would be so much easier to ditch citing health issues than face his fellow Paladins after nearly three years of absence.

He rubbed his temple as he turned the corner, still debating if he should, or could, run away at this late hour. He didn’t see the person stepping out of another doorway, and evidently they didn’t see him either. He walked right into the shorter person, catching them by the shoulders to prevent them falling even as he stepped back to give them space.

Long hair tangled in his fingers as he realized his hands were gripping a woman’s thinner shoulders. He blinked down to meet surprised golden brown eyes in a familiarly scarred face.

“Shiro?” Katie’s voice wavered on the question, as if she didn’t trust her own eyes.

“Hey Pidge,” He removed his hands from her with obviously nervous speed. “It’s been a while.”

“No kidding.” She sounded… angry, flipping stray golden blonde locks over her shoulder as she looked him up and down. Her eyes narrowed when she reached the gloved right hand.

“You look good,” He offered sheepishly.

She did. She’d done a lot of growing and maturing during the war they’d fought, so he couldn’t claim it was a surprise, but there was an elegance to her now that had very little to do with the battle hardened grace he was familiar with. Whatever precious little that had remained of her youth when they’d returned five years ago was gone now. She was wearing make-up, but had made no attempt to disguise or lessen the couple of scars that marked her face and shoulders. In fact, the cut of the formal dress she wore showed off many of her Paladin scars with a conspicuousness that suggested pride. Meanwhile, he wore things designed to cover as many of his scars as possible.

“I know,” She shot back peevishly. “I’ve gotten at least three marriage offers this year alone.”

“I didn’t know,” He swallowed against the tightening feeling in his chest. “Congratulations.”

She waved it off, “As if I need some man to dote on me. I’m the top expert in evolutionary computation and cryptography on the planet. I teach at both the Galaxy Garrison and the CERN Institute. They’re just interested in getting a wife who can support them.”

He chuckled at that, “Still haven’t met anyone who can keep up with you, huh?”

She snorted, turning away from him, but hooking an arm through his at the elbow to force him to walk down the hall beside her. “I know six or seven people who can keep up with me just fine, thank you. I just don’t see any need to bother with lazy opportunists.”

“That many?” He arched an eyebrow and smiled at her. It felt surprisingly like very little time had passed after all.

“Four other Paladins, Allura, Matt, and maybe Coranic,” She smirked at the last addition.

“Coran would be hurt to hear you questioning his skills.”

“Coran would have to be paying attention to something other than asking when any of us are going to start providing him palad-children to spoil.”

“‘Palad-childen’?”

“Paladin grandchildren. We never should have let him and Lance’s family interact unsupervised. They’re terrible.”

“No pressure from Matt or Mrs. Katherine?”

She chuckled and leaned her head against his shoulder, “More from Matt than from Mom, if you can believe that.”

“I can definitely see Matt doing that,” He pulled her closer by their linked arms. How had he not realized how much he missed this? The companionship of his fellow Paladins? Of the people who knew him best in the world? His comfortable banter with Pidge? The feel of Katie’s head on his shoulder when she finally let go of pent up stress to complain to him?

“‘How else am I going to get you married off? You’re going to become an old cat lady!’” He heard her mocking imitation of her brother in the words. “I already am an old cat lady. My cat is a giant robotic lion, perfect for me!”

He laughed and stopped walking, pulling her to a stop with him. He rested his own head on top of hers, “I’ve missed you, Katie.”

She shivered slightly against him, and a fist punched his side with halfhearted violence, “You don’t get to say that, jerk. Do you have any idea how worried we’ve all been about you? You dropped out of all contact three years ago. We didn’t know what happened to you, or if you were okay!”

“I’m sorry,” He knew the building lightness had left his face, and he felt that need to run away creeping back in.

“Well maybe I’m a little sorry Keith and I tracked you down and had drones occasionally keeping an eye on you for the last two.”

“Katie…”

“You didn’t give us a lot of choice. You didn’t tell us anything, you just disappeared!” She pulled away and glared up at him, “You didn’t want to talk to us, fine, we gave you your distance, but we had to know you were still alive and healthy.”

“You’re right.” He bowed his head and slumped his shoulders. “I probably would have done the same thing in your place.”

She grabbed his right hand and pulled it up in between them, “You should have called Hunk and me when your body rejected the transplant. We would have made you a new arm that didn’t have any Galra tech in it. You didn’t have to keep using something we had to cobble together under an emergency situation! We’re your family, Shiro! Did you think we wouldn’t understand?”

He shook his head without meeting her eyes, “You were all going through so much, and yet moving forward. Healing. I didn’t want to hold you back because I’m still broken.”

“Oh sweet quiznak,” Her hands moved to cup either side of his face and pull his within inches of her own. “Takashi Shirogane, you oversized idiot, I don’t know how you missed the memo, but we are _ALL_ broken. We won a war against the biggest empire the universe has ever seen, and we survived it. Each of us is an incredibly messed up, jagged kind of broken, but the beauty of it is the way we’re broken fits together. You’re the missing piece of our messy little family, and we all need you, just as you are. I thought you knew that.”

He smiled even as the muscles of his face spasmed with the fight against unshed tears and he leaned into one of her hands placing his own over it, “I think I forgot for a while.”

“Well don’t do it again,” She sniffed, and he realized she was trying not to cry too. “Come stay with me for a little while after this stupid spectacle. I’ve got plenty of extra room. We’ll get you set up with a new arm, and you don’t have to be alone anymore if you don’t want to be. You’ll have privacy too if that’s what you want.”

He tangled his fingers with hers, pulling her hand away from his face, “I think I’d like not being alone anymore.”

“Good.” She let out a shaky breath, closing her eyes and leaning her forehead against his, “Good.”

“Dr. Katie Holt?” A questioning voice interrupted their moment and she jerked backwards, cheeks coloring very slightly to look at one of the Garrison cadets turned event staff.

She straightened her shoulders, but her fingers squeezed his back when he didn’t release her hand, “Am I needed already?”

“No Ma’am,” The cadet saluted solemnly. “Fifteen-minute warning until the Meet and Greet starts in Holt Auditorium.”

“Understood. Dismissed, Cadet.”

The kid still stood stiffly at attention, glancing nervously over to Shiro. “Mr. Shirogane, will you be…?”

“I’ll be there.” He didn’t miss the way Katie leaned in closer when he confirmed it.

The cadet left swiftly, and Katie sighed in relief, “Sorry, I might have given the wrong impression about us there.”

He raised an eyebrow letting one corner of his mouth twitch upward, “Wrong impression how?”

“Takashi…”

He pulled their joined hands up, twisting them to press a brief kiss to the back of hers, “You were always giving outsiders interesting impressions about us. When have I ever minded?”

“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

He smiled teasingly at her, “You don’t remember when I landed on Earth a full hour after the rest of you?”

“One hour and twelve minutes,” Katie huffed. “I thought we’d lost you forever. After surviving everything else, a solar storm of all things…”

“You’re allowed the occasional emotional outburst,” He responded warmly. “I remember.”

“They’ll probably ask about that again, if we enter the meet and greet together after you being AWOL for the last two.”

“Will it bother you?”

“No, but I don’t want to put extra stress on you.”

“That part won’t stress me.”

“What will?”

“So many people watching me after so long. But mostly? I’m afraid of the reactions of our fellow Paladins.”

“I’m not going to lie. They’re going to be a little angry, but we’ve all just wanted you back. Trust in that.”

“Okay.”

He squeezed her hand and she pulled him closer, “If you can get through the entire event, maybe you’ll get another welcome home kiss.”

“Bribery,” he whispered in a mock-scandalized tone.

“Or punishment.”

* * *

 

Katie had hardly left his side for the entire meet and greet, as if she were afraid he’d disappear again the moment she took her eyes off him. When she had to step away to interact with colleagues or celebrities without him, one of the other Paladins stayed at his side. They all stayed as close as appearances would permit. The Guests of Honor couldn’t get away with sticking together and not socializing at an event like this, otherwise he suspected they would have. After initial scolding for his disappearance, they made it clear they were just as grateful as Katie to have him back. There was never an ounce of rejection from them, which had been his greatest fear today. Lance and Keith updated him on their lives and surreptitiously needled him for details on what he’d been doing. Hunk was a godsend, talking to him about what he’d want in a new prosthetic arm and avoiding both inundating him with too much information on missed years or asking him for details he was still ashamed of. It would take time, and Hunk was always the most considerate of the team. Lance was a close second, despite how irresponsible and immature he had seemed when they were first getting to know each other, and Keith was still the Sword of Voltron, naturally sharp and abrupt on the exterior for all that he was actually kind and protective inside. The more public event had actually been easier than the meet and greet. It was a lot of standing and looking grim, repeating words he’d said countless times to an eagerly silent crowd.

After everything was done, the other Paladins lingered to do more rounds of socializing. However, Katie had taken his hand again, and led him to the neighboring hotel they had all been put up in. People waved and pointed or stared in ways he was sure they thought were subtle as they made through the lobby and into the elevator. Katie dealt with it all better than he did, but he supposed she’d been living as an active public figure while he’d become increasingly secluded. The few people that approached them, she dealt with, minimizing the interactions with strangers Shiro had to deal with. Once they were alone in the elevator, the last chatty folk in an enclosed space dispersed, she slumped against the wall next to him with a tired sigh.

He smiled warmly as he thought of how, even now, part of her was still the Shield of Voltron. How much of her actions tonight had been to make this easier on him? “Thank you, Katie.”

“You’re still sitting with me for a drink before you’re off the hook tonight,” Her voice was playful even though her eyes read exhaustion.

“I’m not going to disappear again,” He said softly. “You can go get some rest instead of babysitting me.”

“Maybe I want to have a drink with you to wind down, tough guy.”

“I don’t drink, Katie.”

“Okay, okay. I can take a hint.”

“I can get a juice.” He stepped out of the elevator with her into the (thankfully empty) executive floor lounge. “You just seem exhausted.”

She chuckled and dropped a head against his shoulder again, “I am. You’re really still going to be here in the morning?”

“I’ll meet you for breakfast at 7am.”

“Demon,” She huffed. “At least give me until 8.”

“Deal.” He put an arm around her shoulder and started leading her through the lounge to the hall entrances that led to the hotel rooms. “What room number?”

She pointed at the correct split without answering him, and he walked her to her door. When they reached it, she turned and took his face in her hands again. He was greeted with that lopsided smile he loved best on her but thought she must have trained herself out of based on her reserved smiles at the events tonight.

“Welcome home, Takashi.”

He smiled as she pulled him down into a kiss that was an echo of their reunion five years ago when their final flight back to Earth had seen them thrown off course by a solar storm, arriving at the Garrison Outpost at different times, his being the last and the latest. An hour and twelve minutes after Hunk had landed, when the others had all started to fear he was lost forever.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. Matt had hit him last time this had happened, and he’d sworn not to push what was obviously the result of stress and worry and a lack of options for her. It was different now, she had options, and she still wanted to kiss him like this. Even knowing he was a mess. She wrapped her arms around his neck, fingers playing in his hair, deepening the kiss. He hummed approval returned her enthusiasm.

She broke the kiss first, and when he opened his eyes again, he found her still smiling at him, “Never scare me like that again, got it?”

He dropped his forehead against hers, “Got it.”

Five years ago still echoed through their words even as he had another chance to restart his life once more. What number lifetime was this black cat on? He wanted to get this one right. He wanted this.


End file.
